Jermaine Jones returned to the Schalke lineup as they suffered another disappointing result while David Yelldell won the battle of American keepers against Karlsruhe and Luis Robles.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0 - 0 FC Schalke 04

Jermaine Jones returned from suspension to help Schalke shut out Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, however their attack was unable to get moving as they settled for a scoreless draw.

Frankfurt midfielder Ricardo Clark was not included in his team's gameday squad for the encounter.

Jones anchored the midfield for Schalke, and picked up a yellow card in the second half in helping the team to their first shut-out so far of the season.

After his fine display in the team's Champions League win just days before Spanish striker Raul nearly opened the scoring for the visitors after 18 minutes, but his strike was easily saved by Frankfurt keeper Oka Nikolov.

Frankfurt defender Marco Russ almost put the hosts into the lead just before the half-hour mark, but his header flew barely wide of goal. He again got his head on a free kick from Benjamin Kohler, but again put the ball just left of the upright.

Frankfurt had the better of chances in the second half, with Manuel Neuer called into action to stop a low shot from Alexander Meier and Theofanis Gekas coming close on a pair of occasions in the final 15 minutes of play, but Schalke's defense held strong in the end to earn the point on the road.

The Königsblauen remain in the 16th-place relegation playoff spot, now trailing each of Kaiserslautern and Stuttgart by a single point. They will take on FSV Frankfurt in German Cup play on Tuesday before returning home to host Leverkusen on Saturday.

Borussia Mönchengladbach 1 - 4 Werder Bremen

Michael Bradley played the full 90 minutes in Borussia Mönchengladbach's midfield on Saturday, but was unable to stop the attacking onslaught of Werder Bremen as they slipped into the relegation zone.

Werder had begun to show signs of recovering from a relatively lackluster start to the season during their previous league win over Freiburg, and hit the ground running in racking up a pair of goals in already the first minutes of action.

Bradley set Marko Marin up for a free kick when he fouled the diminutive winger on the left side of the field, and his resulting set piece flew through the neglectful Gladback defense and into the lower right-hand corner of Logan Bailly's goal for the fifth-minute opener.

Werder's latest Brazilian revelation Wesley doubled their lead seven minutes later after a Bradley giveaway saw Marin feeding the wide-open midfielder for a long shot that left Bailly no chance.

Bradley's rough afternoon continued with a yellow card in the 20th minute for a foul on Marin, however the Foals settled the game down, preventing any more damage for the rest of the half.

Marin continued his impressive performance, again playing provider for Aaron Hunt, who saw his shot from outside the penalty area deflect off of Filip Daems' leg and over the line just after 50 minutes.

Bremen defender Per Mertesacker was responsible for the game's fourth goal, however on the wrong end of the field as he clumsily knocked a deflected save by Bremen keeper Sebastian Mielitz into his own goal in the 67th minute.

The damage was inconsequential, with Claudio Pizarro smashing a cross from Wesley into goal, not only giving his team the final 4-1 win, but cementing the Peruvian's place in Bundesliga history with his 134th goal, an all-time best in the league for foreign players.

The loss sends Gladbach further into the relegation zone, with the team now having gone seven straight without a win.

The Foals host Leverkusen on Wednesday in the Danish Cup, then visit Kaiserslautern three days later as league action resumes.

Hannover 96 2 - 1 FC Cologne

Steve Cherundolo and Hannover rode a pair of early goals and denied a late come-back from Cologne on Saturday as they moved back up into the league's top three with their fifth win of the season.

DaMarcus Beasley suited up for the game, however was left on the bench as an unused substitute for Hannover coach Mirko Slomka

Hannover forward Didier Ya Konan put up a brilliant display in the opening quarter-hour, putting last-place Cologne deep into the hole with a pair of quick goals.

Constant Djakpa set the Ivorian striker up for a eye-catching 27-yard strike from the left side which deflected into the net off the far post. He then grabbed his fifth goal of the campaign 11 minutes later when he headed in a cross from Konstantin Rausch at short range.

Finding his team needing a complete turnaround on the attacking end, Cologne coach Zvonimir Soldo, who was fired shortly following the loss, made the halftime substitution of Milijove Novakovic for midfielder Christian Clemens, which paid off, albeit too late to take anything from the encounter.

In the 85th, Novakovic flipped the ball to teammate Martin Lanig the ball into the penalty area, who quickly rounded Hannover defender Christopher Avevor and knocked it over keeper Florian Fromlowitz and into goal to avoid the shut-out.

Hannover return to third place in the Bundesliga standings with the win, one point ahead of the four teams below. They have a break during midweek German Cup action thanks to their early elimination, and will return to action on Sunday when visiting Hoffenheim.

MSV Duisburg 3 - 0 Karlsruher SC

David Yelldell and the Duisburg defense kept their visitors off the scoreboard to post their third straight win, climbing to second place as the Zebras came out ahead of Karlsruhe and Luis Robles.

The game saw hosts Duisburg hoping to climb back into the upper reaches of the 2. Bundesliga standings, while their opponents were desperately trying to put an end to a troubling four-game run in which they had only taken one solitary point.

The Zebras were quick to assert their dominance on the game, when Olcay Sahan slid a pass from the left edge of the penalty area to the wide open Srdjan Baljak, who smashed his powerful shot straight ahead into goal after just 10 minutes.

Karlsruhe kept the game close for the remainder of the half despite the clear superiority of their hosts, however saw the game go effectively out of reach just past the hour mark when Julian Koch slipped free from his defender to head in a fine free kick setup from Benjamin Kern one minute past the hour mark.

Duisburg kept the pressure high, and added a third when a weak clearance by the Karlsruhe landed at the foot of Sefa Yilmaz who stood alone 27 yards out, and subsequently smashed his shot well out of the reach of the diving Robles.

Duisburg now occupy second place, and will visit Regionalliga minnows Hallescher FC on Wednesday in the German Cup before heading to Düsseldorf the following Monday.

Karlsruhe slip to 14th in the standings, and get to skip the midweek cup action thanks to their first-round elimination, with their next contest on Saturday when they host 1860 Munich.

FC Bayern II 2 - 3 Rot Weiss Ahlen

Matt Taylor found the scoreboard for Ahlen on Saturday as they held on for a strong 3-2 win at FC Bayern II in 3. Liga play.

Marcel Busch opened the scoring for the visitors early in the game before Nicola Sansone equalized for the Bavarians. Taylor put Ahlen back ahead just before the half-hour mark, then Marcus Piossek added a third just before the half.

The Bavarians cut the lead late in the second half thanks to Boy Duel, however Ahlen held on for the win.

Details of the game are included on Yanks Abroad in a press box report.

Notes

Daniel Williams sat the duration of Freiburg's 2-1 win at home over Kaiserslautern on Saturday as an unused substitute.

Kenny Cooper is still returning to fitness following a broken ankle and sat out 1860 Munich's scoreless draw at home against Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.

Amaechi Igwe is recovering from a knee injury and did not participate on Saturday in Ingolstadt as the team lost by a single goal at home to FSV Frankfurt.